One Family at a Time
The UCLA Health Care Institute (HCI) has taught a management systems approach for successful implementation of health promotion interventions in Head Start for nearly 20 years. By building leadership and management capacity in organizations serving early childhood needs, HCI enables early childhood organizations to empower families with knowledge, tools and resources to prevent disease and adopt sustainable, healthy lifestyles. HCI has a portfolio of low literacy health education topics that are culturally sensitive and includes:
Trauma Informed Care Training
Oral Health Promotion
HCI provides a structured set of tools and processes for strategic implementation of health promotion, and incorporates various learning formats: in-person education sessions, reading materials and toolkits, webinars and parent trainings. Organization teams also participate in a mock parent-training session that allows teams to experience firsthand what parents would experience during a parent training session.
Since 2001, the HCI has trained over 200,000 families in 7 languages and in 50 states. Its training methodology is used by over 300 Head Start grantees and has consistently delivered measurable outcomes in improving knowledge, changing behavior, and reducing unnecessary utilization of health care services.
Why Is Health Literacy Important?
Health literacy has taken center stage as an imperative for improving health care and health outcomes.
Health Literacy is fundamental to individuals to make decisions, manage their health, and achieve health equity.
- Evaluate and interpret health information
- Make health decisions
- Navigate health systems
- Communicate with health care providers
Fundamental to the innovative approach taken by HCI is the recognition that low health literacy is a key obstacle and that to effectively disseminate knowledge and empower families, materials had to be tailored to the audience’s literacy level, language and culture. Also key to the success of HCI’s methodology is the recognition that relationship building and engagement are fundamental, leading to empowerment of parents and families. Increased health and wellness also leads to increased school readiness.
Health literacy is taking center stage as an imperative for improving health care and health outcomes. HCI recognizes that to effectively disseminate knowledge and empower families, materials had to be tailored to the audience’s literacy level, language and culture. HCI recognizes that improving health literacy is a key stepping-stone to creating healthier families, healthier children and healthier communities.
Strategies to Promote Resilience and Wellness for Head Start Staff Through a Trauma Informed Lens
The UCLA Health Care Institute (HCI) is pleased to share with you that applications for its newest training opportunity for Head Start are now available. As you move towards fully in-person comprehensive services, this training can support your ongoing program efforts and activities to better incorporate a trauma-informed approach with a specific focus on promoting resilience and wellness for Head Start and Early Head Start staff. Learn trauma-informed practices and develop a strategic plan identifying current practices and next steps for building a trauma-sensitive and responsive organization. Participating agencies will also participate in multiple quality-improvement coaching calls over a 6-month period and receive evaluation tools to monitor their progress and change.
Program Details
The Trauma Informed Care Training for Head Start will be delivered VIRTUALLY over a 3-week period, 2 days per week, from 9am-2:30pm Pacific Time. Dates are as follows.
November 2-3, 2021
November 9-10, 2021
November 16-17, 2021
This training will help Head Start organizations and its staff to do the following:
- Build awareness about their own experiences with trauma and how this impacts their current practice and work with children.
- Understand their own triggers around children’s behaviors and utilize strategies to support themselves with awareness, reflection and self-care after experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue.
- Learn trauma-informed practices that support attunement and relationship-building in the workplace, with an emphasis on reflection and inquiry, parallel process and reflective supervision grounded in relationship-based practice.
- Conduct a self-assessment of their organization that will help identify current practices and next steps for building a trauma-sensitive and-responsive organization.
For questions, please contact Dr. Ariella Herman at ariella.herman@anderson.ucla.edu or Carol Wang at carol.wang@anderson.ucla.edu
“We believe health literacy is a door to family engagement, as each fimaly strives to do its best for children, together we are creating healthier families, healthier children, and healthier communities”
Ariella Herman
Research Director
UCLA Health Care Institute
Publications & Additional Resources
Explore our library of academic data, research, and content, created by Dr. Ariella Herman and various other health care experts.
- BUILDING HEALTH LITERACY AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN HEAD START COMMUNITIES: A CASE STUDY
- MASTER LECTURE: ENGAGING FAMILIES IN THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF THEIR CHILDREN: THE HEALTH LITERACY APPROACH, THE ACF NATIONAL RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD, PRESENTED ON JULY 12, 2016.
- OUT OF THE CLASSROOM AND INTO THE COMMUNITY: MEDICAL STUDENTS CONSOLIDATE LEARNING ABOUT HEALTH LITERACY THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH HEAD START
- POSTER PRESENTATION ON "EAT HEALTHY, STAY ACTIVE!: A COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CENTRAL MISSOURI COMMUNITY ACTION HEAD START AND UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE”
- PREVENTING CHRONIC DISEASE: HOW A POPULATION HEALTH APPROACH IMPROVES HEALTH AND REDUCES DISPARITIES: THE CASE OF HEAD START, 2016
- PREDICTORS OF SUSTAINED IMPLEMENTATION OF LOW-LITERACY HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMS
- A STRUCTURED MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO IMPLEMENTATION OF HEALTH PROMOTION INTERVENTIONS IN HEAD START
- "EAT HEALTHY, STAY ACTIVE!": A COORDINATED INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG HEAD START PARENTS, STAFF, AND CHILDREN
- EMPOWERING LOW-INCOME PARENTS WITH SKILLS TO REDUCE EXCESS PEDIATRIC EMERGENCYROOM AND CLINIC VISITS THROUGH A TAILORED LOW LITERACY TRAINING INTERVENTION
- IMPACT OF A HEALTH LITERACY INTERVENTION ON PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT USE
- REDUCING THE USE OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESOURCES AMONG HEAD START FAMILIES: A PILOT STUDY
